Ukraine's police say blast at US embassy in Kiev not treated as terror attack

The law enforcement officers came to that conclusion after thoroughly examining the scene

KIEV, June 8. /TASS/. Explosion in the premises of the US embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kiev has signs of hooliganism rather than an act of terrorism, Head of Ukraine’s National Police Sergey Knyazev said on Thursday.

"The object thrown in the premises of the embassy could not have inflicted any damage. Therefore, a decision was made to treat this incident as malicious hooliganism," Knyazev said, according to the press service.

The law enforcement officers came to this conclusion after thoroughly examining the scene. A criminal case was opened but Ukraine’s Security Service is still investigating if "there had been the aim of committing terrorism," he said.

The blast in the US embassy compound, located in downtown Kiev’s Shevchenkovsky district, was reported to the police at midnight. Investigators found out that an unknown person had thrown an explosive device on the territory. No casualties were reported. Police initially treated the incident as an act of terrorism. However, the US embassy in Kiev said it was not considering the "incident involving a small incendiary device" as a terrorist attack. The diplomatic mission continues operating as normal.